Trevor Noah Brings South African Comedian on Board for African Broadcast of The Daily Show

South African comedian Loyiso Madinga will helm topical segments for the African broadcast of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The South African-based correspondent’s segments will air intermittently on Comedy Central across the continent. The first piece, a field report from the African National Congress Elective Conference, will debut in Africa on January 11.

“As wild as Donald Trump is for America, many countries around the world have Trumps of their own and since The Daily Show is in many countries, we thought ‘why not give each country a chance to show off their stable geniuses?,’” said Trevor Noah.

The move makes sense seing as the Daily Show has been grabbing strong international ratings, something that is increasingly becoming an important factor in entertainment. Internationally, ratings for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah were up +35% year-over-year for all viewers across 10 measured markets for calendar year 2017, driven by strong growth in the UK and South Africa. Viewership is up domestically as well, and in the US, The Daily Show ranks as the top late-night talk show among millennial men (18-34) and is the #2 talk show with all millennials, behind only The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Jill Offman, head of Comedy Central International says bringing on Loyiso is just the first move of many looking to localize the Daily Show around the world by adding local talent.“This is a pilot, so down the road you may see more internationally based correspondents, making The Daily Show a truly global yet local show for regions around the world.”

Loyiso has quickly risen to being a celebrated international stand up comic. In 2012, an appearance sharing the stage with international acts like Tom Segura gave him a career boost, and he’s become a regular on local comedian, David Kau’s “Blacks Only” line up in South Africa. He has also travelled South Africa as part of Trevor Noah’s Nationwild tour and represented his home country at the Montreux Comedy Festival in Switzerland and Busan Comedy Festival in Korea.

“I am really excited to create a voice for local satire,” he said. “What is really great is this places an authentic spotlight on local comedy and presents a reality that combats the stereotypical perception of Africa. Being part of The Daily Show, I get to join the best conversation in the world.”

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